


Liebling

by teal_bandit



Category: Avengers (Comics), X-Men (Comicverse)
Genre: De-Aged Magneto, De-aged AU, Father-Son Relationship, Other, Pietro is a good mom, Pietro is a reluctant mom
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-06
Updated: 2019-07-03
Packaged: 2019-10-23 13:02:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 5,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17683979
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/teal_bandit/pseuds/teal_bandit
Summary: Erik has been turned back into a child by Mr. Sinister. Being one of his only living relatives, Pietro decides to take him in. But how will the Avenger fare taking care of a man who has hurt him in so many ways?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This work is a chance for me to explore a different type of relationship for these characters--an opportunity to give them a second chance; for Pietro to have a relationship with a gentler, less jaded version of his father.  
> Phrases with <...> is indicating that the phrase is being spoken in German (I would rather do that than butcher a language I'm nowhere near being fluent in)

Chapter 1

 

Pietro isn't sure what he's doing here with the X-Men--in Sinister's lair, no less. Apparently, the madman has been compiling mutants for experiments for some time now and has garnered the attention of the Jean Grey School. Wanda had talked him into going with them.

_Go with them so you can get the hostages out faster, she said. Bah._

He rounds the corner to where the holding cells were. There are mutants of all ages and sizes in cells all down the corridor. Jean had managed to get the passcode to open the doors and shared it with him. He transports them out to the Blackbird one by one. Men, women, children, young, old, healthy, or not. At the end of the hall, in the last cell, the door won't open with his passcode. The child inside of the cell was sleeping, but woke up when Pietro started using his super speed to break the bars. The boy doesn't look old enough to have developed powers yet. He barely looks like he’s five years old.

“Hello, little one. I'm going to get you out as soon as I can. What is your name,” the man inquires, looking into his soft, blue eyes. The child quirks his head in response, looking puzzled. _Maybe he doesn't speak English,_ Pietro thinks. He points to his chest and tells the boy his name.

“Max Eisenhardt,” comes the quiet reply.

Pietro’s face drops, blanching. “Wh--what? Was hast du gesagt?”

“Ich heiße Max….” The boy repeats, a little louder. “Max Eisenhardt…”

Pietro looks at the boy, his face pale. The child is small, slight, with curly black hair and soft, blue, deep-set eyes. _No,_ he thinks, _it can't be him…_

The boy puts his thumb in his mouth and watches Pietro worriedly. His attention is caught by the rest of the X-Men, who come barrelling through the hallway, making sure there are no other prisoners. Jean senses Pietro's distress and comes to him, looking at the child in the cell.

“Oh my God….” She crouches, reading the boy's memories. “Pietro…. Pietro this is _Erik_ …” She reaches out telepathically to get the key code for this cell, and opens the door for him. The boy stays inside, still sucking his thumb, his brows knitted. She tries coaxing him out, but it's no use. The child doesn't speak English, and she doesn't speak German. She looks at Pietro. “Could you… I mean, he needs to get out of here. We need to get him out.”

Pietro swallows. “<H--hey… it's not safe here, you need to come with us.>”

“<I want my mommy… where is she? Where am I?>”

The Avenger swallows. _Everyone he knew then is dead…_ He leans down in front of the boy.

“<Edie isn’t here. I’m.. not sure where she is. But we need to get you out of here and get you to a safe spot. There are still guards here who will be coming soon. Come on, Max…”

He holds his hand out to the boy, who looks at him worriedly. This man knows his mother’s name; surely he can be trusted if he knows his mommy. Max takes his hand, holding onto his neck when Pietro puts him on his hip. They run out of the lab and to the X-Mansion.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pietro sits and waits for Hank to get back with the test results. He doesn’t know what possessed him to agree to take care of his father until they can figure out how to return him to his real age. He supposes maybe it has something to do with the way the boy asked for his mother. Pietro remembers painfully how much he missed his parents when they passed, and right now, Max has no idea what is going on. Pietro almost feels sorry for him. Suddenly, he hears the child start wailing. He jerks his head up, rushing to the door.

“Hey! What’s going on?!”

Jean comes out, tears staining her cheeks. She explains that she’s told the boy that his family is gone, in the most discreet way possible. Pietro looks at the child--his arms by his side and his head back, bawling and crying for his mom. He winces. He walks over to the boy and takes his hands in his.

“<Max… I’m so sorry, Max.>”

“<Mommy and Daddy! Uncle Erich! Ruthie!>” He sobs, clinging to Pietro for comfort. “<Where will I go?! My family is _gone_! I’m… I’m all alone...>”

“<I--I know… You will stay with me… I’m--I’m related to you, so you will live with me…>”

“<You? I am… we are family?>”

“<Yes, child… And--and I will take care of you.>”

The boy sniffles and buries his face in Pietro’s neck, crying softly. Pietro can’t help but put his arms around him, rubbing his back and shushing him. He sighs. How will he take care of this boy--this younger version of a man who has caused him so much pain and suffering...?s


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The miniature master of magnetism doesn't like thunderstorms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any phrases written as "<...>" are meant to be interpreted as being translated from German.

Distant thunder crashes and lulls Pietro to sleep. He’s always enjoyed the sound of storms, ever since he can remember--the patter of rain on the rooftops, the gentle roll of the thunder, the brightness of the lightning against the darkened sky, though at a recent point in his life, all of these things would have been dangerous in their own way. When he and Wanda lost their parents and were living on the streets, storms meant they needed to seek shelter fast. Living so far up in the Balkan mountains meant a higher chance of being struck by lightning, and being cold and wet after a rain meant they could get sick. It took Pietro longer than he likes to admit to enjoy those things again.

He is woken up some hours later by a small hand pushing at his shoulder. He groans, immediately checking the clock. 2:17 in the morning. He looks at the owner of the hand. “<Max… what’s the matter?>” Lightning strikes, brightening the room. The storm has moved closer.

The boy jumps at the sudden flash of light, timidly moving closer to the bed.“<Please, mister Maximoff… M--may I sleep with you? I d-d-don’t like the lights and the thunder is loud…>” 

Pietro considers him. He still has a lot of hard and hurt feelings towards his father. The man has hurt him in so many ways--belittled and humiliated him, beat and even  _ killed  _ him. But this boy is not who his father was--who he knew him as. He sees tear tracks on the boy’s cheeks and sighs. “<Alright, Max.>”  He raises up on one arm and helps the child into the bed. He pulls the covers over them both and puts an arm over him; a symbolization of protection from the frightening storm. 

Max curls into him, holding his shirt and flinching whenever the lightning strikes. He sniffles, trying not to cry. Pietro begins to hum to him, rubbing his back with his thumb. After a while, the boy begins to calm down. He buries his face in Pietro’s chest and closes his eyes, falling back asleep. Pietro looks at him for a moment, considering him. His eyes trace his features--his wide eyes, hooked nose, thin lips, round cheeks and dark hair. He gently brushes the boy’s hair away from his eyes. Max sighs in his sleep. Pietro tucks Max’s head under his chin and slowly drifts back to sleep himself. The warmth Max provides is comforting--he forgot how much he enjoys having someone beside him, whether it was his parents or his sister, his ex-wife or his daughter. He rests in a dreamless sleep that night.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Pietro is a princess and Max has to rescue him from an evil dragon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any phrases written "<...>" are meant to indicate that it was translated from German. And yes, I know that Pietro should technically be a prince, but knights always save princesses in the fairy tales, so that's what I'm sticking with.

“<Max, it’s time to wake up…>” Pietro gently jostles the boy. He’s spent the past few moments watching the child sleep--his round face so angelic in its peaceful innocence. Max’s face scrunches up, his mouth forming a pout as little hands rub his eyes tiredly.

“<Uh-uh… ‘M tired…>”

Pietro can’t help smiling. It’s hard for him to believe that this boy is his father; Erik was always so hard--stern and cold. This boy is nothing of the sort. In the past couple of weeks, he’s shown an exuberant amount of empathy and childish energy. Surprisingly, he reminds Pietro of himself at that age. He brushes the boy’s dark hair away from his face. “<Oh? But I made breakfast already. You don’t want to eat cold oatmeal, do you?>”

The boy whines a little, turning his body to face Pietro, pouting and hiding his face against his leg. “<Carry me?>”

Pietro shakes his head. “<Such a needy little boy. Very well.>” He puts his hands under his child-father’s arms and carries him against him. He brings him downstairs to the table, sitting him in front of the bowl of oatmeal. Max rubs his tired eyes, his stomach rumbling for the smell of the sweet meal. He picks up his spoon and begins to eat, fumbling a little for the lack of wakefulness in his young muscles. Pietro eats his at his own pace and watches Max eat. He’s very coordinated for such a small child--and very articulate, as well. The tests Hank ran have shown that the boy is most likely five years old. After breakfast, Pietro takes him to the bathroom to brush his teeth. Steve and Tony have been kind enough to allow him to be off-duty except in cases of extreme danger. This gives him plenty of time to take care of Max.

They stay close to the mansion, just in case. He takes him to the garden in the backyard to play. He loves playing “Princess Rescue”, where he is the knight and Pietro is the princess.

“<Don’t worry, princess! I will save you! Oh no, a dragon!>” The boy ducks under the “dragon” flying above him.

Pietro chuckles a little and gasps. “<Oh no! Please help me, Sir Max! The dragon will eat me up!>” He tries to raise the pitch of his voice to sound more feminine, but it cracks and he has to cough.

Max giggles and runs up to him, pretending to climb up the tower of the castle. He puts his arm around Pietro’s leg, holding up a stick like a sword. “<Come on, Princess! We have to leave now!>”

“<But shouldn’t we slay the dragon first?>”

“<Oh, you’re right… Excelsior!>” The boy runs towards the bushes, smacking them with the stick. “<Back! Back, you mean dragon! You won’t be eating the princess today!>”

Pietro watches him with warmth. _He’s such an imaginative young boy… He certainly lost none of his creativity in his old age._ He picks him up when he comes back, kissing his cheek. “<Oh, Sir Max! You saved me from the big, scary dragon! How can I ever repay you?>”

“<You must come with me to my kingdom and rule them! We don’t have a king, so you must rule them!>”

“<Oh? Well, I will try to rule them wisely.>”

“<I know you will! You are a kind and caring princess…>”

Pietro smiles fondly at him. He tries to ignore the voice in his head telling him that, three weeks ago, no such compliment--or kind word of any sort--would have come to him from his father. This child is so different, so innocent and resilient. The speedster almost can’t believe that he bounced back so easily from learning his family is no longer alive. He supposes being so carefully looked after has something to do with that. It was much different for Pietro when he lost his family. He kneels down and hugs him tightly. “<I’m so glad to have such a brave knight to look after me. Who rescues me from dragons and brings me to their kingdom.>”

The boy blushes and playfully pushes him away. “<Pietrooo,>” he whines, “<Let go!>”

Pietro chuckles and lets the boy loose, jostling his hair. Steve comes out to check on them. “ Hey, Pietro, Hey, Max! <Is everything going okay?>”

Max lifts his stick in triumph. “<I saved the princess and now she will be the princess of my kingdom!>”

“< _I’m_ the princess.>”

Steve laughs and watches Max “practice” with his stick until he gets a call. AIM is attacking the UN building. He looks at his teammate. “We could probably use your help… But i understand if you can’t.”

Pietro sighs, looking from Steve to Max and back. “I can go evacuate the delegates and civilians, but then I have to come back… I don’t want to leave him alone for too long.”

“I understand. Jarvis can watch him for a short while until you get back.”

Pietro nods and brings Max inside, telling him he will be right back. Max frowns and hugs him before he goes. He just hopes that he comes back unharmed.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which our boys watch Tom and Jerry and have a touching little moment.

Max sits with Pietro on the couch. It’s raining, so he can’t take him outside to play. Pietro shifts the boy a little to regain the feeling in his leg as he sits on his lap. Max sits, fascinated with the pictures on the television screen. He’s sure his family never had anything so extravagant, and even the movies at the cinema weren’t in color! 

_ I must take him to the movies soon; I’m sure he’d love it… _

Pietro decided to introduce him to some of the earlier cartoons, ones that relied less on talking, since Max still didn’t speak hardly any English. They were working on that, and Max has turned out to be a very fast learner.

“Pietro… The mouse is… bad to the cat! Why the cat is bad? Get hurt?” Max tilts his head, trying to puzzle his way through his speaking skills. He can’t write very well yet, either, so Pietro works with him by helping him sound out words and pointing to things around the mansion as Max repeats what they are. 

“Because the cat will  _ eat _ the mouse if he catches him.” Pietro points to his mouth, acting like he’s eating something. Max nods his head solemnly. 

The grey cat on the TV runs into a wall and flattens like a pancake, making Max giggle. Perhaps old age and longing for his daughter near him again have Pietro feeling more soft than usual, but he swears hearing that boy laugh is like hearing music. What he would have given for his father to be happy like this when he first knew him, all those years ago. To hear him laugh or see him smile. He remembers Django’s smile and how his laugh would fill their whole house. He misses him terribly. 

“<Pietro… why are you sad?>” Max touches his cheek a little, looking at him with his big, blue eyes.

“<I… I miss my parents. Like you do, sometimes.>”

“<Oh. They must have been very good and nice.>”

“<What makes you say that?>”

“<Because they made  _ you _ . And you are very good and nice, too. And strong and handsome, like the knights in the stories my mama used to tell… Or like the soldiers that used to fight with papa.>”

Pietro smiles bemusedly at him, stroking his hair and getting it away from his eyes. “<Is that so? Well, I think they were nice. And I would do well to turn out to be  _ half  _ as nice and wonderful as they were... >”

Max smiles at him, leaning his head against his chest. “<Pietro? I’m very glad we’re family. I love you very much.>” He cuddles close to him and watches the mouse build a trap for the cat. Pietro hugs him close, feeling tears in his eyes. Oh, to have heard those words from  _ Erik… _

“I love you, too, _Liebling_.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Max gets help baking a cake.

Pietro looks at the kitchen. Jarvis will kill him. Max hasn’t seen him yet; he’s still stirring whatever this concoction seems to be. There’s flour, eggs, sugar… all over the countertops. Pietro tries to calm himself mentally before he addresses the issue. He coughs and gets Max’s attention. 

“Pietro! I make a cake! For  _ Herr  _ Jarvis!” Max smiles broadly, flour all over his face and in his hair. Pietro has to fight not to laugh.

“<That’s very nice that you thought of him, Max… But I don’t think what you have in there will make a cake.>”

“<It won’t?! But mama always put eggs and flour and sugar in the cake!>” He looks shocked and sad.

Pietro smiles and shakes his head. “<Well, those things  _ do  _ go in cake. But other things go in it, too… let’s clean up here and I’ll help you make a cake for Jarvis.>” 

They spend close to fifteen minutes cleaning flour and egg mix from the counters and the walls, then Pietro washes the bowl and Max’s face. Max dries the bowl and sits it on the counter, looking at Pietro expectantly. The white-haired Avenger uses his phone to look up a recipe and gets the ingredients ready. He gives Max the measuring cups and tells him how much of what goes in the bowl, and what the ingredients are. He makes a full mug of coffee, sitting a cup of it in the fridge and drinking the rest.

“<Why did you make that coffee? You put it in the fridge…>” Max looks back at the refrigerator.

“<Because if you make it with coffee instead of water, it tastes better. It makes it more chocolate-y.>” He smiles and sips his bit of the coffee.

“<Oh… I never knew that. You’re smart!>” Max beams at him, stirring the bowl and adding in the buttermilk while Pietro adds the baking soda and baking powder. 

Pietro kisses the top of his head, adding in the coffee once it’s cool. He lets Max try a sip of  _ his  _ coffee and the boy makes a face, shaking his head. Pietro laughs. He carefully puts their creation in the oven and grabs some crayons and paper for while they wait. Max loves how good Pietro is at drawing. The speedster knew Erik was knowledgeable about art, but never thought he appreciated it much. He remembers being afraid that if his father knew he enjoyed art--making it, appreciating it--that he would be disappointed, and he already dealt with so much disappointment from him. Max is so different, still so innocent and amazed by everything. They sit and draw and talk until the cake is finished. Pietro takes the cake out of the oven and sits it onto the counter, telling Max to wait until it cools to touch it. 

“<But that will take so long!>”

“<Yes, but Jarvis will really like it, so it will be worth the wait to see how happy he will be, right?>” Pietro sits it on the windowsill, opening the window so that it cools faster.

Max pouts and sits on a stool, sitting his hands under his chin. “<Yeah… I hope he likes it! I never made a cake before!>”

Pietro picks him up, sitting him on his hip and kissing his head. “<Well, it  _ smells  _ very good. I think you probably did a very good job, Maxy. We’ll frost it after a while, okay? Do you want to read for a little bit while we wait?>”

“<Yes! Can we, please? Can we read  _ Goodnight Moon _ ?>”

“<Again?>” Pietro smiles, shaking his head. He can’t say no to that adorable face, even if they’ve read that book fifteen times that week.

About an hour later, they can frost the cake. Pietro asks Jarvis to come into the kitchen, where Max is bouncing on his seat in excitement. “ _ Herr Jarvis _ ! I make a cake for you! Pietro helps! We make good cake!  _ Mitt Kaffee _ !”

Jarvis feels Pietro gently push him into the kitchen, not used to other people being in his work space. He looks at the cake, with its chocolate frosting and strawberries on top. “You made this for  _ me _ ?”

“Yes! You are good! I like you! Want make you cake so I… <How do you say ‘so I can show you thank you for being so nice?>”

Pietro smiles and looks at Jarvis. “He says it’s to thank you for all you do around here. He had to make it twice; he nearly destroyed your kitchen the first time…” He snickers, a gleam in his eye that the Avengers’ butler hasn’t seen in years and years. 

Jarvis’ face softens. “Thank you so much, Master Max. Would you like to share some of it with me? Cake is so much better when you share it.”

Max’s face lights up and he nods. Jarvis makes some tea and divvys out three slices of the cake, eating it slowly and smiling contentedly as he watches Pietro smear some frosting on Max’s nose.


	6. Telling a story

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Max asks for a bedtime story and receives a tale about the past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any dialogue marked with <...> Is denoted to be spoken in German. Also, spoilers, in a roundabout way, for House of M (2009)

“<Please, can I have a story? _Please_?>” the little boy clasps his hands together and makes puppy eyes at the white-haired Avenger in front of him. He’s been out on a call all day, so he’s probably tired, and Max knows this. He’s missed him, though, and he wants to spend some time with him before he goes to sleep.

Pietro sighs, smiling and pulling Max into the bed, sitting his little head on his arm. He thinks for a moment before asking the boy what kind of story he would like to hear.

“<What about a story about you?>”

“<Oh, I don't think you would care to hear a story like that…. What about a fairy tale?>” the Avenger pets his hair, nervous, but not wanting to show it. The boy smiles and nods. He loves any story Pietro tells him.

“<Well, once upon a time, there was a hidden kingdom. The kingdom had to be hidden because they were very powerful and other kingdoms were afraid of them. The ruler of the kingdom was a hard, wise old man with three children; he had two daughters and a son. The daughters were two of the strongest people in the world, but the son was weak compared to his sisters and his father. Maybe it was for that reason that the father seemed to dislike his son.>

"<One day, the son set out to please his father, to make him happy. He thought and thought and thought about what he could do… and he asked one of his sisters to help. She was in some trouble with a foreign country and needed a way to escape her trouble. Together, they planned and used her power to create a whole other world for their father; one where everyone in the world had their greatest desire… their family was together, the prince's sister was safe, and the sister had children and the father's kingdom was even more powerful than ever… but there were some people who could remember the old world and wanted it back. So they went to the king and told them about the son's part in the plan. The king was not happy and he k--killed his son for his role….>" Pietro shivers a little, remembering the events of the _real_ story. The twisted metal wrapping tightly around him, keeping him from moving, the sharp hit of the sentinel as a part of it struck his head…

_-What have you done in my name, boy?!-_

"<That wasn't very nice… the prince just wanted his dad to be happy…. What happened, Pietro, what happened??>"

"<Ah… the princess used her powers to bring her brother back to life…. And then, as punishment, made the king's kingdom smaller and less powerful… she even dethroned the king and her whole family, so that perhaps they could live a different life.>"

"<Oh… maybe that would have been better… Is that the end of the story? Did the king and the prince ever meet again? Did the princess keep her children?>"

"<So many questions, little one… well, the king and the prince did meet again, but it made the prince very sad, so he decided to live alone for a while…. He did some bad things, too, to try and fix the broken kingdom, but it didn't work and he… he decided to go to another country instead. The princess didn't see her children or her royal family again for some time, but they came to see her while she was living in a different kingdom. Some people say the family will never be able to love each other the same…>"

"<I hope they do… everyone deserves to have a family to love them… even I have you, Pietro…>" Max frowns, hugging the Avenger and closing his eyes. Pietro pets his silky black hair and smiles, forcing back tears.

"<Yes, Max…. You do have me. And you always will. I love you…. Very much.>"

Max smiles, squeezing him tighter. "<And I love you, Pietro. Would you…. Would you sleep in here tonight? Please? Pretty please?>"

"<Oh, well… I'm sure it won't hurt anything.>" The man smiles softly, pulling the blankets over both of them and turning out the light.


	7. Swimming

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Pietro and Max spend a day in the pool

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, any dialogue with <...> Is denoted to spoken in German. It's finally feeling like summer here, so I thought I'd celebrate with this

Max squeals, jumping into the water again. His laughter fills the air and warms Pietro's heart as a smile spreads across his face. "Pietro, come in! Swim with me!" The boy giggles, smiling happily.

 

 _This,_ Pietro thinks, _this is how his childhood should have been… not spent worrying, or with his parents having to deal with so much… having to worry about just_ surviving _against an ideology that wished them dead…_ He sinks into the pool, swimming over to Max and tickling him, trying to pull himself out of his thoughts. The boy's laughter helps him to feel better when his thoughts get too heavy. He smiles when his young father--it's still so strange to remember that that is who he is--shrieks with laughter and hugs him close. "I love you, Maxy."

 

"I love you, Pietro," Max manages to giggle out. He pushes away from him, wanting to swim. The life jacket around his chest feels strange, but he isn't a very strong swimmer, so Pietro gave him that. He smiles and paddles over to the other side of the pool, resting a minute. In his mind, he's a sailor who is swimming back to his ship after falling out. Why did he fall out? Who knows. Maybe his captain pushed him because he was too good of a sailor. Maybe a strong wind pushed him from the deck. Maybe he was clumsy and fell over the rail. There are endless possibilities and he's had a while in the pool to think about them. He swims back to Pietro, smiling and panting with effort. "I will… <I will save you, Pietro!>"

 

Pietro tilts his head. "<What?>"

 

Max reaches him and hangs onto his arm, pulling it. "<From the shark! Look! It wants to eat you!>" He points vaguely at another side of the pool. Pietro looks over and gasps theatrically.

 

"<Oh no! A big shark! Save me, Max!>" He smiles, hugging him for comfort. Max pulls his arm and tries to swim over to the edge of the pool. Pietro does most of the swimming. They reach the edge and Max hugs him protectively.

 

"There! Now he won't eat us!" He smiles, looking up at Pietro. Then, he looks over and gasps. "Oh no!"

 

"What is it, Max?"

 

"Another person! A girl in the water! I must… <I must save her, too!>" He pushes away from the edge and swims towards the middle of the pool again, attempting to reach the make-believe girl. When he gets to her, he loudly announces that everything will be okay.

 

"Oh, Max! Hurry! The shark!" Pietro snickers, motioning for him to come to him. Max pretends to put the girl on his back, swimming back to Pietro--back to safety. He reaches him, his arms tired, and just bobs there, panting. Pietro smiles and takes him, putting him up on the warm concrete side of the pool. He pulls himself out, too, and sits beside Max. "Well! <I think such a daring rescue deserves a treat! Don't you?>"

 

Max looks at him, laying on his back in the warm sun. "<A treat?>"

 

Pietro smiles, wrapping up in a towel and going inside for only some few moments before coming back out with a popsicle for him. Max claps and thanks him, taking the sweet treat and sucking on it happily. After a little while, he gets cold from the soft breeze and climbs into Pietro's lap, still eating his popsicle. Pietro wraps a large towel around them and smiles, watching as Max eats the whole thing, the juice from it dripping down his face and onto his hands and arms. The boy is more adorable than he has any right to be, really. After he finishes, Max looks up at Pietro and kisses his cheek, leaving purple juice where his mouth was. Pietro laughs and wipes the sticky mess from him face before taking the towel to Max's. Max laughs and giggles and lets Pietro clean him off, pushing the towel away when he feels clean, a bright smile on his face. Pietro kisses his head.

"There… do you want to go inside? Or do you want to stay out?"

 

"I want to swim more," the boy exclaims, bouncing with excitement. Sure, he's already been out here for an hour, but he wants to stay out some more! To spend more time with Pietro, who has been asking him about maybe going to school after this summer, especially since his English has gotten so much better. He's always wondered about school...

 

"Alright. <But you need more sunscreen on, then.>" Pietro grabs the bottle and pours some out on his hands, making sure that Max is well-protected against the sun.

 

For Max, that summer is one of the best he can remember, even more fun than the time his parents went to Poland to visit his auntie's family. He misses them--his family, his parents, little Ruthie-- and he wonders sometimes if they are in a better place now. He isn't sure about what happens after a person dies, and his parents always said that it's what you do when you're alive that matters the most… but he hopes, at least, that they're all in the same place, so they won't be lonely. He wants this summer to last forever; to be warm and soaked, full of love and laughter and joy. But he also wishes his family could be here to have the same fun he's having. He wonders what they would think of America...


End file.
